Seeing that Fengchu was talking to the lady, Chen Mianmian slipped away close to the side.

"What's up?"

Xiang Ning didn't answer immediately. Instead, she pulled her master to a corner of the courtyard, took out a letter, and said in a flustered tone, "Master, look at this."

Confused, Chen Mianmian accepted the letter, tore off the sealing wax, and pulled out the letter paper, only to find it covered with elegant, flowing handwriting.

It was a letter from Princess Ryan.

The letter stated that this morning, Prince Jin went to the princess's residence, insisting that the princess help him find a way to see Prince Bai.

In the past few days, Prince Jin has been visiting the Marquis of Anning's residence, but the gatekeepers have refused to let him in, so Prince Jin had no choice but to ask the princess for help.

The princess, annoyed by the constant pestering, wrote to Shen Mianmian, asking her to handle the matter.

Why let the sleepyhead handle it?

The first reason was that Ding Xuan was pregnant, and the princess did not want to disturb her.

The second reason is that Prince Bai listens to Chen Mianmian, and only listens to Chen Mianmian.

The letter also said that the princess only agreed to meet Prince Jin this time. If Prince Bai insisted on not seeing Prince Jin, then Chen Mianmian should go and meet him to make up an excuse so that everyone could get away with it.

After putting down the letter, Chen Mianmian fell into deep thought—Jin Wang's persistent request for an audience would surely make him humble himself and say the best things to Feng Chu once he saw him.

Recently, Fengchu has been very career-oriented, making it clear that he wants to enter officialdom and engage in social activities. If Prince Jin comes to apologize and seek peace at this critical juncture, Fengchu might actually give him face, and the two could turn hostility into friendship.

Even if we don't become close, we won't be too distant when we meet again.

The two already look alike, so people subconsciously assume they'll hit it off immediately. If they act even closer, who knows what rumors will spread.

In the original text, Prince Jin was planning a rebellion.

The Marquis of Anning's mansion will be implicated!

Therefore, the two of them must not be allowed to meet.

besides……

As Shen Mianmian recalled these past few days, a question arose in her mind—what exactly was the reason for Prince Jin's rebellion?

The princess said that Prince Jin and the emperor had a very good relationship. When Prince Jin was in the capital, the emperor would think of him whenever there was something delicious or fun to do.

Prince Jin was diligent and conscientious at the border, and there was no news of him forming cliques or showing any signs of rebellion.

She felt uneasy and inexplicably sensed that the reason for the rebellion was important to her and to Fengchu!

After thinking for a while, Shen Mianmian said to Liu Xiangning, "Go and invite Granny Li here."

"Yes, Master."

Xiang Ning ran to find someone and quickly found Granny Li.

Shen Mianmian first handed the letter to Granny Li, and after she finished reading it, she said, "As you can see, Prince Jin wants to see the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince doesn't want to see Prince Jin. The Princess is also pressuring us, saying that both the Crown Prince and I have to see Prince Jin to appease him. So I have a suggestion: why don't I go see Prince Jin instead?"

Incidentally, she wanted to find out what Prince Jin disliked about the Emperor.

...Although she still doesn't have a good idea of ​​where to start.

“This…” Granny Li hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

Chen Mianmian said sincerely, "I know what you're worried about, Granny. As a woman, it's really not appropriate for me to meet with a man outside the family. But now the Prince of Jin is waiting in the front courtyard, and the princess has written a personal letter, so we can't refuse her."

Besides, I'm only going to explain the situation to Prince Jin, not to meet him alone. Don't we have many male stewards in our palace? Regardless of gender, as long as they're stewards, bring them along to accompany me to see Prince Jin. In front of everyone, it will be perfectly aboveboard.”

After thinking for a long time, Granny Li could only sigh and say, "Alright, let's do as Auntie says."

A few months ago, the lady's life was uncertain, and a few days ago, the young master was poisoned and his life was uncertain. Granny Li was already terrified.

Now, just thinking about who might provoke the mother and son again makes Granny Li want to fight desperately. She thinks that if Aunt Shen can stop this matter, that would be the best outcome.

that's all,

Granny Li summoned all the stewards of the Marquis's mansion, a dozen or so people, men and women, young and old, who all followed Concubine Shen to the front hall.

...

Inside the hall.

A servant announced that Consort Shen had arrived.

Prince Jin, who was waiting in the hall, was surprised. He had thought that if the princess came forward, Prince Bai would reluctantly meet with him, but he did not expect that Lady Shen would come to see him.

The thought of seeing that woman again soon filled Prince Jin with excitement. Even knowing that the Crown Prince and Lady Shen had a very good relationship, even if he couldn't have her, just being able to catch a glimpse of her would be enough to make him happy for a while.

But soon, the Prince of Jin was stunned.

Because along with the arrival of the beautiful lady came a group of stewards from the Marquis's mansion.

Under Shen's leadership, the stewards knelt down to pay their respects to Prince Jin.

Today, Prince Jin was dressed in a dark green brocade robe with black silk trim, which made his already outstanding height appear even more upright.

And that fair, jade-like face left everyone mesmerized.

As the stewards paid their respects, they stole glances—they looked so alike! They had heard before that the Crown Prince and Prince Jin resembled each other, but everyone thought it was just a resemblance in appearance, never expecting them to look this alike!

To say they are exactly the same would be an exaggeration.

However, if someone who is not familiar with the Crown Prince were to meet Prince Jin, they would definitely mistake him for the Crown Prince.

Prince Jin looked at the kneeling woman and said, "No need for formalities."

When Chenmian got up, all the stewards also got up.

The layout of the hall in the Southern Chu Kingdom was similar to that in ancient China, with two chairs at the entrance and an eight-immortal table in the middle.

These two chairs are for the host and the honored guest.

In front of the two chairs are two rows of round-backed chairs, which are the next seats.

This wasn't Chen Mianmian's first time here. Before, she couldn't even get a seat in the front, let alone the main seat.

Of course, she didn't want to sit in the main seat; on the contrary, she preferred to hide in a corner. The problem was... she had to sit in the main seat today, as Granny Li kept giving her meaningful glances.

Because of the hospitality etiquette of the Southern Chu Kingdom, distinguished guests must be entertained. If the person entertaining the guest is the head of the household, he or she must sit in the main seat; if the person entertaining the guest is the steward of the household, he or she must stand beside the guest.

So even though Shen Mianmian was just a concubine, she had to sit in that position to entertain guests.

Granny Li winked at Consort Shen – “Go sit down, be open and honest, what are you afraid of? Although the other party is a prince, our Marquis’s mansion is not inferior either. Besides, I’m here to help you, and so many stewards are here to cheer you on.”

Helpless, Chen Mianmian could only dawdle and go.

In order to get rid of Prince Jin as soon as possible, Shen Mianmian didn't waste any words and went straight to the point, "Your Highness's presence is an honor to our Marquis's residence. As for Your Highness's purpose, I am aware of it, but the poisoning last time was a misunderstanding, so Your Highness need not take it to heart."

Just then, a maid came forward, removed the tea that had been served to Prince Jin, and replaced it with fresh tea for Prince Jin and Consort Shen.

Seeing the maid bring tea, Chen Mianmian stopped and cautiously looked at that familiar face, wondering—how should she get information out of him? What on earth caused this guy to rebel?